The Hindu religion is REALLY big on their cows. I wouldn't expect them to get angry about it, but then again, you never know. Still, the Hindus are usually pretty good about this kind of thing. Thicker skin than most.

I dunno, maybe they got a message from some "cows rights" group or something... Microsoft really wants to appeal in India so they're not going to do anything that could potentially hurt their chances.

From I theory I heard on Digg, Microsoft decided to cut their losses. By not releasing the game, they won't lose money in manufacturing, distribution etc. if it ends up banned or boycotted later. Sensible market decision, but more like a nod to piracy amirite.

So, I got the game Tuesday and it is great. It's not "the same," but I was expecting that. Yet, at the same time, it feels like Fallout. I think it's a very natural progression of the series and had Black Isle not gone under, I could see them making this game.

I guess I should start by comparing it to Oblivion, since that was the big pre-release mantra of many original gamers. The Oblivion influence is there, but this IS Fallout. You can definitely tell the same company made both games, much like you can tell BioWare made KotOR and Jade Empire.

The menus in Fallout 3 are similar to Oblivion, and you will see (and hear) Baurus walking around, but the character diversity is better. Actually, it's probably just that there are less characters running around than in Oblivion, what with humanity barely around and all. The world is similar in that you are giving a map that you can pick a direction and just run and explore, which you could do in the original games by using your map and seeing the "travel lines" until you came across something, but in Fallout 3, you just manually run. Fast Travel is in the game once you discover an area of interest, however.

Combat works well in Fallout 3, although the turn based system is gone. The game plays like a First Person Shooter, until you use you V.A.T.S. The V.A.T.S. is awesome. You pick your target, and when you bring up V.A.T.S., you are given the old Fallout targeting system. You can target the mobs head, left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg, and whatever weapon they are carrying, but if you want the best chance to hit, you can also target their torso. The cool thing is that if you target anything other than the torso, there's a chance the limb will get blown off or in the case of the head, explode.

The really cool thing happens after you select your target and click accept. The camera switches to a slow motion cinematic view. It will show you different angles of the fight from behind you to behind the mob to, my personal favourite, a closeup of my character's face, gleefully smiling as rounds are pumped into the enemy!

All in all, I find the combat system to be a good balance between the faster FPS type combat and the old Turn Based combat of the the originals.

The old Fallout mobs are back. While running around, I came across a Deathclaw. I was torn between "OH CRAP! THE DEATHCLAW IS GOING TO EAT ME!" and "YES! THIS IS AWESOME! A DEATHCLAW!" It was strange mix of fear and nostalgic excitement.

Voice acting is very good in the game. Ron Perlman returns with a new "War. War never changes." speech. Then you meet your Dad, who is voiced by Liam Neeson. Yep, Liam Neeson. The only other actor I picked out was Malcolm McDowell, who voiced The President. This seems a good time to mention a cool new function of your Pip Boy. It has a radio. You can turn it on and listen to The President giving patriotic speeches about rebuilding the American government and conquering the Wasteland as you play. There's also another radio station you can listen to and probably should because the two stations have different beliefs about what's best for the Wasteland. Both stations also play music between speeches by their respective host. Oh, and while not necessary, you can also pick up clues about the main quest through the radio. You're leaving the Vault is big news, and people are talking.

Anyway, I could go on for a while, but it's hard to think what to say without giving away spoilers. Overall, I like the game. It's fun and feels like it was done right. There are some things that perhaps could have been done better, but all in all, the atmosphere of the game works. One of my favourite early moments was picking up a Leather Armour. It's a small thing, perhaps, but it looks exactly like the Leather Armour from the originals, just in 3D and much more detailed.

And with that, I'm off to kill some more Super Mutants! The Wasteland calls!

I pretty much agree with Bob Lion. It seems like that everything that was wrong with Oblivion was "fixed" in this game. No more two dimensional characters, a lot better writing and voice acting, quests that can be solved in more than one or two ways... It definitely feels more like the first two Fallouts (graphic, combat, and controls notwithstanding) than Oblivion, which is a very good thing indeed. I'll have to play some more before I make any final judgments, though.

Quote:

Have you tried using any Oblivion mods in the game? Im thinking about trying it. I just have to actually put the files where they go and turn on the game...

Even though the game's using the same engine as Oblivion, the content is different; I doubt any Oblivion mods will actually work. The only "mods" from Oblivion that I'm using is some .ini tweaks and in-game console commands (like changing the game's timescale). Those work because they are more Gamebryo engine than Oblivion related.

I disagree with it being more Falloutish then Oblivionish ^^ Both me and my friend played thourgh the begining then when we went outside the vault and started exploring we went into a raider base. After being in there for like a minute we both looked on eachother and said "This feels like Oblivion". Well i haven't played so long yet, but im not too impressed yet.

I think the random bases feels way to much like the dungeons in Oblivion, and i really don't think it belong to the Fallout universe to have raider bases evrywhere, i mean in whole Fallout 1 & 2 we encoutered like three raider bases and they were story bases. It would be alot better if they did it like STALKER where the raiders actually move around the world (Well maybe they do, but i havent encounterd any yet in the way im thinking)

And i really wondering about the removal of traits, was it to much of a hassle to have start traits like in 1 & 2 ? Where they to similar to perks for Bethseda to bother make them ?

But overall the game is pretty funny, but not like the old Fallout games, i have the feel of playing Oblivion with guns and alittle better dialougs. But like i said, i havent played for to long so my opinion may change when i get more into the main story.

I would recommend that you start with Fallout 1 then 2, because they are so much better then Fallout 3 probaly ever will be (Yes, im a hardcore Fallout fan, since Fallout2 top my list of best games ever)

I disagree with it being more Falloutish then Oblivionish ^^ Both me and my friend played thourgh the begining then when we went outside the vault and I think the random bases feels way to much like the dungeons in Oblivion, and i really don't think it belong to the Fallout universe to have raider bases evrywhere, i mean in whole Fallout 1 & 2 we encoutered like three raider bases and they were story bases. It would be alot better if they did it like STALKER where the raiders actually move around the world (Well maybe they do, but i havent encounterd any yet in the way im thinking)

It's definitely similar in many aspects (similar graphic and gameplay), but writing and atmosphere isn't one of them, IMO. But each to their own. It's purely a matter of opinion.

I agree about the raiders, though I must say that it doesn't bother me that much; I never expected this game to be just like the first two Fallouts anyway. In fact, I chose not to compare it to the first two Fallouts at all. This helps me get over some annoyances... if I don't consider it to be a sequel, but rather a game set in the Fallout universe.

It would be nice if they could release a construction set. That way I would be able to get rid of all of the annoyances pretty fast.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lance Monance

EDIT: Ok, that gamebanshee article.. is that true? Quest are worse than Oblivion's?

As far as I can tell, that's definitely not true. I think the one who wrote that review never played or enjoyed the first two Fallouts, but liked Oblivion.

all this comparisons to Oblivion, i think, is just utter nonsense. IMHO, this game is its own game pure and simple. yes, you can tell its from the same developer, but i really don't see the point in sweating out little details like "the lighting is similar" or "it feels like they scattered Oblivion dungeons everywhere". if you go in comparing it to Oblivion, then that's all you'll see. if you go in to just play the game, i know you'll have a lot of fun because i'm having a lot of fun.

yes, i notice similarities between the two games, but the main reason is that i pay attention to a lot of technical nuances. that comes from being a detail-oriented programmer and not from a desire to pick the game apart trying to find every last similarity to other games.

so far, i'm having a lot of fun, but for the moment, my character is struggling a bit because he can't seem to find enough ammo....

How would you rate it compared to other good RPGs you've played, say Kotor, BG2, PS:T, the Witcher, ME, Motb, vampire 2, .. (assuming you have played any of those )

I can't really. I hold all of those in high regard, so I don't really consider one better than the other. They all have their strengths and weaknesses (more of the former, though), and I've enjoyed them all one way or another.

all this comparisons to Oblivion, i think, is just utter nonsense. IMHO, this game is its own game pure and simple. yes, you can tell its from the same developer, but i really don't see the point in sweating out little details like "the lighting is similar" or "it feels like they scattered Oblivion dungeons everywhere". if you go in comparing it to Oblivion, then that's all you'll see. if you go in to just play the game, i know you'll have a lot of fun because i'm having a lot of fun.

yes, i notice similarities between the two games, but the main reason is that i pay attention to a lot of technical nuances. that comes from being a detail-oriented programmer and not from a desire to pick the game apart trying to find every last similarity to other games.

so far, i'm having a lot of fun, but for the moment, my character is struggling a bit because he can't seem to find enough ammo....

Yeah, opinions is a bitch, aint they ?

@Lance: Well like i said, Fallout 2 atleast top my list of best games i played, and i played all those you listed there. And i think all the games you listed also is very good, Kotor, PS:T, BG2 are atleast very high up on my same list. And like SpaceAlex said, they all have there strength and weakness, like i don't think there is a game that even can come close to match PS:T story and dialougs, but it's still aint my favorite RPG

hehe, i keep getting myself into situations where i'm fighting outnumbered and outgunned. those moments can be frustrating at times, but its also rather rewarding when i'm the last man standing.

at least i solved the problem of not having enough ammo. i will say this about this game: stealth works pretty darn good. i just wish that you had some cool takedown animations whenever you sneak up behind someone and knife'em real good.

If anyone's having problems with LIVE or just wants to improve performance and how fast the game will load, renaming Fallout3.exe.cat to something else will cause the game to skip loading the LIVE dll.

edit: just finished the game and was completely meh'd by the ending i got.

"No, Mama. You can bet your sweet ass and half a titty whoever put that hit on you already got the cops in their back pocket." ~Black Dynamite

A tough question to answer. I just started playing two days ago. To me, it "feels" more like Fallout than Oblivion. Besides the obvious wasteland setting, the Pip Boy and S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system are familiar aspects to its predecessors. The real-time combat and camera angle system much more akin to Oblivion, though the optional V.A.T.S. targeting system does use some of the better aspects of the old Fallout system. The dialog system seems to combine the best of both games using skill-based and perk-based dialog options combined with full voice-overs. The jibber-jabber dialog of NPCs in the background seems to have a better repertoire than I remember Oblivion having.

So far I'd say Fallout 3 has its own flavor distinct from F1/F2 and Oblivion. If you liked the earlier Fallouts and Oblivion, I think it's safe to assume you'll enjoy the game play of Fallout 3.

As far as I can tell, you can play each of the Fallouts separately without missing much. Sure there will be references that will have deeper meaning if you played the earlier game(s), but nothing to stop you from enjoying the individual games on their own. F3 takes place on the east coat while F1 and F2 take place on the west coast, very near yours truly as a matter of fact.

You can get the gist of the backstory from wikipedia and also, for those who don't have F1 or F2, you can play them for free by signing up with Gametap. Since you're an old fogie like me, I have confidence you'll enjoy the charm of the old isometric POV and dialogs, so feel free to play in any order you like.

If you want to go into further details about the series, there's also a Fallout Wiki.

The only thing that is tempting me to buy F3 is, well, mods. There's quite a few out already, and many of them try to inject the original Fallout "feel" into F3. However, the only thing stopping from getting F3 is that it's been in the hands of Bethesda, so I'm expecting cheese galore with the voice acting.

The first two fallouts take place on the west coast, Fallout 3 takes place on the east coast and quite a bit of time has passed as well, so anything from the first two that you need to know is told to you in Fallout 3. Playing the first two will get you "into" the world of Fallout, which is honestly a really well put together, amazing world. So you should seek the experience from the first two, but don't let not having played them keep you from just firing up 3. I do highly recommend playing Fallout 1 before 2 though as they do tie together.

About Fallout 3 though... I may be the odd man out, but I really didn't think Oblivion was so amazing. It had some good graphics, and the size of the world was a pretty big wow factor for me, but once I started getting my own houses, killing things, etc., etc. I just had a hard time holding onto the core storyline. It was like the immensity of the world kept dragging me from it. Fallout 3 doesn't quite play out that way for me, which is why I love it.

Fallout 3's main quest is pretty straightforward, its all about your dad. I won't throw in any spoilers here, so don't worry. The quest takes you to several places where you learn about more quests and options that can help you become a better wastelander. The really nice thing is that despite the fact you might get sidetracked trying to help some slaves rebuild lincoln's memorial or you're debating blowing up that nuke the town was built around, many times the dialogue with people will lead you back to the main quest, fortunately not in an annoying way.

The world is truly free roam. If you run afoul of a couple deathclaws cause you went into the wrong cave, or an enclave patrol stumbles across you, well needless to say if you're not ready for it, it won't take long for you to find out. The world moves beyond you, there are roaming patrols, creatures move from area to area, its really pretty dynamic. The game does have a linearity to it though that will be hard to escape. For instance in DC, I felt many times like the rubble in my way should have been easily scaleable, but the designers felt otherwise and I was forced into one of the very many subway systems to get to the next area I wanted to go to, which leads to some frustration sometimes. Also, there are occasions in combat where things can get pretty hot and heavy, and the game really shines there, cars exploding around you, blood flying on your screen, sounds are dulled from the shockwave and you're trying to gun down that super mutie with a gatling gun. Very exciting.

The dialogue was really well written and the actors mentioned above did a great job, particularly McDowell. The side quests are excellent as well, very well thought out for the Fallout world though occasionally a bit predictable, which fortunately the game uses for some comedic moments. A radio dish has been broken and ironically another dish can be found, you get pegged to go get it, and the dialogue reflects that irony well with humour about "Let me guess, you want me to get that for you?" The game achieves a realism through dialogue because your character can be any number of different personalities.

Anyway, there are some bugs in the game that are pretty hard to get around, but there is a thread on the bethsoft forums that is the official thread for fixing game breaking bugs as best we can, many solutions for people have been found there if they're having problems. I personally never really hit any problems that were not my own comps fault, but thats just me. I've played the game from start to finish, and like some others, felt the ending was forced on me, and am somewhat disappointed by it, but such is life, it was still half decent and I'm working on my next playthrough to experience a different ending. This game isn't to be missed though, they obviously put a lot of hard work into it. The overall feeling is that they created this with alot of care and thought as well as respect for the first two games and made it into something new, which I'm ok with. Definitely check it out though as its an experience not to be missed.

Bethesda has announced forthcoming downloadable content for Fallout 3 for both Xbox 360 and PC versions. First up however is the PC exclusive game editor that will allow Fallout 3 players to create their own quests and content. Called the G.E.C.K., short for Garden of Eden Creation Kit, PC gamers will be able to create new creatures, weapons, quests, etc. sometime in December. Then starting in January, both PC and Xbox 360 players will get new content: Operation Anchorage, followed by The Pit in February, and Broken Steel in March.

While the new editor will be a free download it's not real clear to me that the in-game content will be free downloads. My guess is they won't be but will likely need to be purchased via Games for Windows Live or Xbox Live.

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I suppose a performance hit is to be expected given that the new textures are in 2048x2048...personally, I didn't tried the pack but I am not sure that the new textures are really an improvement (it was certainly a lot of work for the modder though ). From the screenies published here (in French but you don't need to understand to see the screenshots) tiling seems more visible to me and I can't say that I am very fond of all those rocks...to each its own I guess...to me pure "photo-realistic" textures != automatical improvement .

OK so I just got through my first run of Fallout 3. About the ending.... what the hell? I mean.... what the hell? Even Oblivion's ending was better then that and Oblivion's ending was crap.

I thought the same thing my first time through.

spoiler:

Thought it was going to be like Oblivion where I could continue on my merry way, but…

I've competed 4 times through now on the 360 and I’m now on my first play through with the PC version of Fallout 3. Still need to go through at least twice on the 360 to get the evil, neutral and the slave quest achievements. FWIW I actually like Fallout 3’s ending now, well at least the good ending (as I have not seen the others).

OK so I just got through my first run of Fallout 3. About the ending.... what the hell? I mean.... what the hell? Even Oblivion's ending was better then that and Oblivion's ending was crap.

Yea, that's really my only problem with the game. The ending is horrible. The rest of the game was fun, but then you hit the brick wall of the ending.

Which, speaking of brick walls, is the other problem with the ending. It felt too abrupt, like there should be more game. On my first playthrough, I decided to work on the main quest some more, then go back and do some more of Moira's stuff, but then BAM! The end.

I kind of had a feeling when Sarah Lyons said "Are you ready, we won't be coming back for a while," or whatever her exact line was, but I was in disbelief that I really was at the ending that soon... the lead up wasn't natural.

So, my second playthrough, I just went to Megaton and talked to Moriarty. Then, I just went and explored, avoiding all the places and people I knew would move the story along until I was ready.

I wanted more of the Fallout/Fallout 2 epilogue narration, recapping how my various actions affected others in various areas of the game and what became of them. Instead there was just a couple variations on the main quest's outcome. I mean, that let me down way more than the ending of the main quest.